This is my first season with a stove and I bought a variety of pellets to compare. So far Green Supremes are ok but Stove Chow sucks balls. SC is burning much cooler than GS.
Stove Chow Sucks
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RKS130
Minister of Fire
I have a ton of Great American Pellets, but a few bags of Chow and a lot more of American Wood Fiber Pellets.
Our local HD had both the Chow and the American Fiber pellets.
Our stove was just installed this week and I first burned a bag of Great American and am now working on the Stove Chow.
Are you measuring the temperature of the room/house when you say one burns hotter than the other? What is the criteria?
Our local HD had both the Chow and the American Fiber pellets.
Our stove was just installed this week and I first burned a bag of Great American and am now working on the Stove Chow.
Are you measuring the temperature of the room/house when you say one burns hotter than the other? What is the criteria?
kinsmanstoves
Minister of Fire
defrob said:
I guess we can not blame it on outdoor storage.... I know this from a prior post, lol.
Eric
I measured the air coming out of the stove. SC was only 150 degrees while GS maxed out my therm at over 200. The GS were triple wrapped at tractor supply. The SC was unwrapped on a pallet under an overhang. The SC pellets look fine but there must be a moisture issue.RKS130 said:
RKS130
Minister of Fire
What you say makes sense. I guess the bottom line is that there are a lot of variables - mostly relating to storage conditions. My Stove Chow seems fine and, despite the raw cold weather, the house is warm on a low setting for the stove. My local HD had the Chow double wrapped and of course each bag, unless compromised, is watertight as well.
So far so good. All I know is that these relatively minor differences in heat generated by different brands of pellets pale in comparison to the very major difference between heating with pellets and oil. So, while I will certainly dio all I can to maximize the return on my pellets, I am thankful I am no longer hostage to the oil company.
So far so good. All I know is that these relatively minor differences in heat generated by different brands of pellets pale in comparison to the very major difference between heating with pellets and oil. So, while I will certainly dio all I can to maximize the return on my pellets, I am thankful I am no longer hostage to the oil company.
nailed_nailer
Minister of Fire
RKS130,
Unless Stove Chow has a different bag than most pellet manufacturers.
The individual bags are not watertight.
Most pellet bags have vent holes all over them. I assume so that they breathe for stacking.
Hope this helps,
---Nailer---
Unless Stove Chow has a different bag than most pellet manufacturers.
The individual bags are not watertight.
Most pellet bags have vent holes all over them. I assume so that they breathe for stacking.
Hope this helps,
---Nailer---
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
To defrob,
I hope you only bought a small amount. just one reason why we always say try before you buy if possible.
Well said!
Its no only proper storage involved. There are many variables with pellets that nick us here and there. One is batch variation from the mill itself. What I get burns great what you get burns well you know. Add this to improper storage and some other issues and you see post like this. The stove you burn them in can also play some limited role.
I burned 2 tons of them last season and got another to start this seasons shoulder period. All different batch dates and no issues. Decent middle of the road pellet. For what I paid, I am pretty happy with them. Coarse I got some good ones for the cold spell we may get mid winta!
I hope you only bought a small amount. just one reason why we always say try before you buy if possible.
RKS130 said:
Well said!
Its no only proper storage involved. There are many variables with pellets that nick us here and there. One is batch variation from the mill itself. What I get burns great what you get burns well you know. Add this to improper storage and some other issues and you see post like this. The stove you burn them in can also play some limited role.
I burned 2 tons of them last season and got another to start this seasons shoulder period. All different batch dates and no issues. Decent middle of the road pellet. For what I paid, I am pretty happy with them. Coarse I got some good ones for the cold spell we may get mid winta!
dsnedegar3
Member
I got 3 tons of Stove Chow from HD. The heat isn't bad, but the the fines are ridiculous. Going to split a half pallet of Okanagans with a friend for January/Feb when it really gets cold.
Stove Chow is like McDonald's for your stove (think Dog Chow...anything chow actually). They might as well be in a white bag labeled "pellets." I used them last year because my wife had lost her job and money was tight. I went back to NEWP this year and I'm much happier. There was so much fly ash with them I had to clean my chimney 3 times.
dsnedegar3
Member
How about "Acme Pellets" I bought them because I had about $800 on a gift card so I got them for free.
I bought them because I had about $800 on a gift card so I got them for free.defrob said:
hahahahaha!
Have you tried the VTs yet? You'll never go back to even considering sub-awesome pellets.
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Hate to see what you guys say when you get a hold of some pellets that really suck! Inferno's anyone???
dsnedegar3
Member
Never used Vermonts. What did you pay per ton? Switching gears ... I see you have an OAK on your Harmon. Did you ever try without it? I'm considering adding an OAK using the chimney for my Quad...trying to reduce drafts and hopefully less complaining from the wife.
j-takeman said:
But the Infernos make pretty colors when they burn! Who else can claim that?
In other news, Infernos have been outlawed in Maine, they are now considered Class 'P' fireworks.
Daves said:
$259 to $269 per ton for the VTs and worth every penny.
I installed the OAK at the same time I put the stove in. I felt that it made more sense in general and was safer. Aside from that, I have a SUPER tight house, so it was very necessary for me.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
I have only burned one bag of NEWP blend but I just opened up a bag of stove chow and noticed that there were quite a few long ones around 2" or more.... They seem to be burning well right now with the occasional pop which I assume is a pellet getting chopped in the auger feed.
I can truthfully say that Stove Chow is the best pellets I have ever burned. Of course I am only on the third bag of pellets I have ever burned. :lol:
mepellet
Minister of Fire
BrotherBart said:
Haha. Yea I'm only on my 2nd bag of pellets I have ever burned so I don't have much to compare it to either!
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
BrotherBart said:
;-) You got a taste now, Wait till you try them there Okies! hehe
Hows it burning BB?
j-takeman said:
Pretty good. Got smoke smell at start up with every joint taped. Bugs me. There is a digital CO detector head high ten feet from it that measures zip. Getting a little concerned that it may be the comb blower gasket. Lot of breeze right there so seeing the smoke ain't gonna happen. The wind either is the cooling fan in the comb blower motor or it is coming out of the blower itself. With 33 feet of 5.5" liner warmed up above it the chimney is probably pulling everything out after it warms up.
Cool and wet, not cold here, so I am seeing how it does wafting heat up from the basement. It is doing that really well. Knew it would. Been wood stoves down there for 28 years. And the fact that the pellet puppy has the blower which I aimed right at the stairwell helps. Gonna get cold in a couple of days so we shall see. If it flunks I fire off the 30-NC.
I did find a wire that was laying against the steel mount that the combustion blower is on that had melted the insulation off. Found that on the second taping run. Luckily before it shorted. Wrapped it in electrical tape and moved the wire bundle insulation wrap over where the bozo that built it should have put it in the first place.
Edit to add: I do have to admit that this is the first time a stove has burned down there two nights in a row from sundown to bedtime without a reload. :lol:
RKS130
Minister of Fire
Might as well put my 2 cents in. Threw a bag of Chow in the hopper of my new Accentra FS - as my second bag, simply because it was handier at the moment. Temps here have been raw but not real cold (low 40's at night) but "they" say a cold spell is coming.
At these temps I could not discern a difference between the Chow and the Great American pellets which was my first bag. Time will tell. I did not have any smell from the stove on start up and I am quite sure the stove had not been previously lit.
The stove is located on the first floor in a foyer opposite the stairs, so second floor got comfortable as well as ground floor. We also put a ceiling fan in the hallway upstairs to help with circulation.
So far we LOVE the stove, but colder weather will be the test. It sure ebats the oil delivery I got 20 minutes after the install - $511 for 131 gallons!
At these temps I could not discern a difference between the Chow and the Great American pellets which was my first bag. Time will tell. I did not have any smell from the stove on start up and I am quite sure the stove had not been previously lit.
The stove is located on the first floor in a foyer opposite the stairs, so second floor got comfortable as well as ground floor. We also put a ceiling fan in the hallway upstairs to help with circulation.
So far we LOVE the stove, but colder weather will be the test. It sure ebats the oil delivery I got 20 minutes after the install - $511 for 131 gallons!
FireManDan
Member
Stove chow burns great for me, on my englander on setting 1-1 i can get over 200 on the convection blower air coming out.
Oh, yeah. I only bought 8 bags figuring it would be enough to evaluate SC throughly.j-takeman said:
ChrisWNY
Feeling the Heat
No complaints whatsoever about the Chow for me, they burn hot and relatively clean, one of the hottest burning pellets I had last burn season. I still have 1/2 ton left and will burn them once the weather becomes colder. Got them for $165/ton last year.
kinsmanstoves
Minister of Fire
So if the results of one brand of pellets varies so much what could be the issue that sets a good bad apart from a bad bag? I would be willing to bet that it is storage. I did hear this from an unnamed source that was gathering shopping carts at a big box store's parking lot. I have to protect my sources because there is a PFI backed hit team out there and they are a group of bad girls.
Eric
Eric
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